SF Giants can take a chance on discarded Phillies pitcher to address rotation

The SF Giants have gotten shaky performances from their starting rotation this year. Even usually reliable ace Logan Webb has not looked like his usual self. Adrian Houser has been the weakest link which is why the Giants should take a chance on Taijuan Walker after he was released by the Philadelphia Phillies.

There are always going to be some players who are worth taking a flyer on, even if the numbers are bad. Sometimes this strategy works out, and other times it doesn’t. The Giants took a chance on Kevin Gausman and turned him into an ace so it has worked before.

Walker was released for a reason, though. He had a disastrous start to the season as Philadelphia's fifth starter. It may not seem like the best move on paper to bring him in, but the Giants should take a look at signing Walker for more support for the pitching staff. 

Giants should add Walker to give starting rotation more depth

For the remainder of the season, the Phillies are on the hook to pay the remaining $15 million owed to Walker, which means the Giants would have to sign him for the veteran's minimum of $780,000. To stay in the MLB, he may even be willing to take a minor league deal. If he is willing to take a minor-league deal with San Francisco that could be a low-risk, high-reward move.

Prior to his release, Walker was 1-3 with a whopping 9.13 ERA in 3 starts and 4 appearances in total. It’s certainly not pretty to look at, but with some work he can be a solid pitcher again. After all, his career numbers are better than what he has showed so far in 2026. 

Walker owns a career 4.27 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. This suggests that he would eventually find his form and be someone who is reliable. When he’s right, he can be effective as he had a 4.08 ERA in 124 innings last season.   

Maybe one way to get him going would be to bring him in as a bullpen arm, where he doesn’t have the stress of starting. Once the time is right, he can be a starter if needed. The Giants do have some questions in the bullpen and in the rotation, with Adrian Houser really struggling so far. 

Currently, the Giants have a 4.19 ERA as a pitching staff. They rank 19th in the league in this category, which suggests some help would be nice to have. Walker is at the very least worth a look. It's such low-risk that it makes too much sense.

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